PearlieMae's Silicone Tail Journey

[Theobromine]

THOSE COLORS

[Jeblily]

I don't want I NEED that!!!!!Can I haz one pweese!!!!!

[Mermaid Julz]

OMG! those look incredible!

[Mizuko]

oh. mah. gawd.
Incredible!!!

[Ashton]

Those look really cool, but I wonder how they would look on a full scale tail? I kinda get a feeling from far away it would look kinda like an oil slick but close up it would have more details.

[Trident True]

Abalone Pure Genius, One of a Kind.

[ShyMer]

That was my concern too, but it seems that you thought of everything

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[PearlieMae]

That was my concern too, but it seems that you thought of everything

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Hahaha! I'm trying!

[Mermaid Lorelei]

Holy Carp girl!

[Anahita]

Dang, that's going to be one heavy tail. I hope your mertender can do some serious lifting!

[Seatan]

I ADORE the texture on your scales, Pearlie. They make me gasp and moan in ways that is making the small dog sleeping on my legs a little nervous. She's all:

Don't abandon it! Me loves too much, and I think the colors and gleam of the abalon will look gawgeous with them!

[Jeblily]

I love the texture of the scales too!!! As long as you put that glossy silicone layer on top i think it will add a nice texture and really bring out the color. I'm thinking it will end up looking like this which would be perfect and really benefit from the scale texture....

[Ashton]

Thanks, everyone!



I love the idea of the colors of an oil slick! It's one of my reference photos! The entire tail wouldn't be the oil slick randomness... Center back will be very dark, paua shell abalone, lots of black; transitioning to royal purples and deep blues down the sides; moving into brighter blues and greens towards the front. The center front (fish belly) will be peachy/pearly with interference violet and gold.

Pale green iridescent fluke and fins with purple veining/ribs. I think.

Also, chances are I won't be seen from far away anyway, no?

At least, that's the plan today.

That sounds really great! I cant wait to see more!!!!!

[Ashton]

Are you going to give yourself an abalone top? Or do you that that would be overkill?

[Mermaid Caspiana]

The abolonie is genious! I can't wait to see how this turns out! It's going to be beautiful!

[LaNyah]

You have some pretty outstanding ideas! Wings/fluke, fabric with silicone, and now I found the reference to the using to glass to smooth. Thanks for all the sharing.

[Mermaid Julz]

PearlieMae, I am just blown away with how good this is looking. I am like bouncing around waiting to see the finished product!

[Mermaid Dottie]

Hahaha! Even without a tail, my mertender is going to need a forklift!

I don't think it's going to be all that heavy, really. The power mesh is just going to be lightly saturated -wetted- with the silicone. The individually cast scales are going to be very thin, then "glued" to the power mesh with brushed on silicone. Then finished and sealed with a thin, glossy 'slime' coat of silicone. When it's all said and done, it will actually be thinner than a foam-circle type, fully-poured scale sheet. I won't be adding additional silicone through painting because the color will all be built in to the scales at the casting stage.


Here is a photo of my test scales all piled together. These are much thicker than the scale mold I'm making now.
Attachment 16375

Since I'm making the scales to resemble abalone, do you all think I should ditch the texture on the scales? Am I overthinking this?

Attachment 16376

Oh how funny!
I'm going to be doing something similar to fix my disaster of a latex tail. I'm going to make thin sheets of latex, then punch them out with circle punches (or maybe a different shape. We'll see.) and then glue them onto my tail base individually because latex and e6000 luurve each other a lot. That way, I can blend the seams as I go, making a seamless partial latex tail, using my Oceanika as the fluke. I'm also going to hunt down an epoxy to glue the tail body onto the fin, since they're both a type of rubber.
Any ideas?
I think it's interesting how similar our methods are.

[Anahita]

Hahaha! Even without a tail, my mertender is going to need a forklift!

I don't think it's going to be all that heavy, really. The power mesh is just going to be lightly saturated -wetted- with the silicone. The individually cast scales are going to be very thin, then "glued" to the power mesh with brushed on silicone. Then finished and sealed with a thin, glossy 'slime' coat of silicone. When it's all said and done, it will actually be thinner than a foam-circle type, fully-poured scale sheet. I won't be adding additional silicone through painting because the color will all be built in to the scales at the casting stage.

Here is a photo of my test scales all piled together. These are much thicker than the scale mold I'm making now.

Since I'm making the scales to resemble abalone, do you all think I should ditch the texture on the scales? Am I overthinking this?

I meant more because of all the crystals

And I personally like the texture. I think it adds a nice dept to the tail.

[Anahita]

I totally forgot those existed! Ooooooo sparklies. I hope there's no barracuda where you end up swimming!